It was a rather lazy morning for us, drinking lots of free coffee and munching our way through a box of Oreo cookies while we rocked back and forth on our balcony chairs. We decided last night that we would skip climbing the volcano which was not actually active anymore in terms of constant lava flow. It was the drawcard for the area a few years ago but now it was more about Hot Springs.

There was a waterfall close by on Rio Fortuna that was supposed to be very nice so we took a taxi there from town. Leonel, the taxi driver, was one of the nicest people you could ever meet and he gave us all the information a tourist needs without the slant on taking your money - especially for visiting a Hot Spring. All he asked in return was that we keep his card and phone for our return trip to town. This was not a problem because his fare was exactly what we expected to pay and were not being ripped off.

At the waterfall park, we paid our $10 entry fee and walked down 532 steps through rainforest to the base of the waterfall. It was very spectacular and very powerful 70m drop. David clambered across the large boulders at the edge of the pool to go in for a dip, and a refreshing swim it was too - the water was a cool 23c. The water was so strong that David kept getting pushed to the shore and decided it was easier to get out and swim further down the river.

Round the corner, it was hard to believe it was the same river because there was a beautiful calm pool. It was almost as if the water from the falls had some other way of draining away and wasn't all continuing down the river. The water was crystal clear in the pool and the big fish could clearly be seen milling around. Maria even braved the fish and the icy 23c for a swim. On the way back up to the entrance we saw a chestnut-mandibled toucan, the biggest toucan in Costa Rica.

Leonel happened to be waiting in his taxi as we came out the park, so we hopped in and he took us to the Hot Springs. We had previously decided to go to Tabacon even though it was the most expensive one. It seemed to be the most authentic and least 'manufactured'. Leonel didn't think we should go there though and suggested he could take us to the river 'next door' to Tabacon where we could sit in a natural hot river for free. There was nothing to lose and if the river turned out to be rubbish then it was only a 50m walk to pay a big entrance fee.

There are similar types of streams in New Zealand so we kind of knew what to expect. This was more of a river than a stream though but very popular all the same with what looked like locals. People had spent a lot of time here moving rocks to create bit calmer pools. We found a suitable pool which had a calm area and some fast flowing water like jets in a spa pool. The water was a very warm 37c so we spent hours in the water, not getting too hot and not getting too cold. While we were in the water we were watching hummingbirds and butterflies flit around the tree branches that were overhanging the river. There were also a couple of really heavy bursts of rain, accompanied by loud thunder but it just seemed fine to stay in the river, we were already wet but warm.

The rain storms continued for the rest of the afternoon and evening so we decided not to venture too far and just to have take away pizza for dinner. We did treat ourselves for a bottle wine though - after all we had saved considerable sum of money by going to the free hot springs.